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Sunday, August 29, 2010

I am beside myself with giddiness because I have actually managed to get two, count 'em TWO challenges done in a row for the weekly prompt at Inspiration Avenue! The theme this week was, "The Power of Words" and I just also happened to need to make a name tag for when I start working at the gallery. Beth and Lori (the owners of the gallery) asked that the name tag be indicative of our work so of course, I decided to a collage in the style I often use for my altered books.
BUT, I started wondering how well this fits the theme- after all, a name is a word, but how much power does it have? Then, of course Shakespeare cam to mind with his famous "What's in a Name Poem" and I decided to go with it. When I went to look up the poem, I also found this really interesting (to me at least;)) article from Psycology Today that expands on the idea.

""What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
The above well-known musings of Shakespear's Juliet suggest that the names we ascribe to objects entail an element of arbitrariness. They imply that the name given to an object is a mere matter of convention. A name - Juliet explains - does not change any of an object's qualities, nor - she might philosophize - does a name possess any real connection to an object's inherent properties.
A rose is a rose because we agree to call it so, and if we agreed to call it by any other name, all that makes a rose will continue; albeit under a different name."
For anyone who wants to read the rest of the article, you can find it HERE.
So here's my name tag- hope you like it!

And don't forget to check out the other submissions at Inspiration Avenue for this week's challenge!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I am gradually reclaiming my studio time as there are less and less local fruits to choose from for jamming! Hooray, I've really missed painting. A LOT. Anyways, here's just a quick check in to show you where I am with my zinnia. I *think* I'll be done today or tomorrow (if I have time to paint after today.....I do still have 20 tarts to make for Saturday and I've now added pralines to my regime:))Hope everyone has a wonderful hump day!Stephanie

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I am so pleased with myself! I actually managed to create a new painting for the weekly challenge at Inspiration Avenue. I've been so crazy busy lately with trying to get new paintings done for the gallery opening and all the baking and jam making for the market, that it's been a looong time since I had anything to offer! This actually started out very differently than it is now. It was basically a painting of a woman holding a cup of coffee, but something about her face kept reminding me of Matisse's "Madame Matisse" so I decided to add some colors similar to his painting, and then I decided that I needed some vermillion Hibiscus around her to balance the colors and voila! Here she is, in my head, I'm calling her "Mocha Mama" but the official title is "Coffee in the Garden" which I think is a really boring title- anyone have any suggestions?

Be sure to stop by Inspiration Avenue to check out all the submissions on Sunday after 12:00 or even better go submit your own entry for "Coffee" and be eligible for a prize!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I just found this wonderful blog via my friend Jaime over at Artsy-Fartsy-Me. And wow, am I glad I did! Not only is her blog full of yummy vintage finds and ideas; she is also having a giveaway to mark her Bloggiversary! Which reminds me, I have one of those coming up myself......stay tuned, I'm sure there will be some celebratory goodies to thank all you lovely bloggie friends who enrichen my life daily!

In the meantime, don't, er I mean DO check out Fiona & Twig, you'll be glad you did!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Finally, here are the pictures of my new painting as promised. You know, it's funny, I came up with a great title for it yesterday, but can't for the life of me remember what it was......ah well, maybe it'll come to me later. If not, I may be asking for suggestions again:)
The way I work is using images from my photographs uploaded on the computer so I can really see the fine details- so that's why I included my laptop in the picture. I always feel a little weird showing wip's because they're still at the point where mostly all *I* can see is where I want it to go, and what needs touchup.......
So, here ya go:

I moved my desk a couple of weeks ago into the dining room to get the view of the garden. Of course, I usually have to close the blinds around this time of day because the sun is so intense, there's a glare on my paints and it's hard to see the colors that I'm mixing. Yesterday when I started paing, I'd pretty much decided that I wanted to tone down the orange, then I started laying in the central colors, and now, I'm not sure. So the intensity of the orange will be sticking around until I have most of the central colors in place.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Happy Sunday- I appologize for being away so much lately. I've been burning the candle from both ends and there just hasn't been any time to blog as much as usual. Anyway, I've recently been invited to join a gallery made up of a wonderful group of artists local to my area, called Homeown Decatur! Opening day is on the 21st and I'm super excited! Here's the link to their website for any who are interested: Home Grown Decatur.
It feels like I've been so blessed with many good things happening of late, I've really loved reconnecting with our community. I also just sold one of my favorite paintings; "Green with Envy, Black and Blue with Salvia" I love it when my "babies" find their way into new homes.......:)

"Green with Envy, Black and Blue with Salvia"

I also managed to clock a few hours of work into my new painting- another zinnia. Anyone wanna guess what my favorite flowers to paint are? I'll try to get photos up tomorrow. Anyway, that's about all for now. I must be off to clean the house so the next week of craziness can begin......

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Hurry over to my friend Sharon's Etsy shop Mana Moonshe is having a HUGE 75% off everything sale on her beautiful inventory of jewelry and key rings. Her work is vibrant with color, texture and loaded with creativity! Here are just a handful of examples of her gorgeous work......

Sunday, August 1, 2010

I've been admiring my friend Elizabeth's weekly entry of silent Sunday postings over at Altered Book Lover for long enough that I decided to jump on the band wagon and start my own. Here's my first entry- enjoy!